Darlene Tucker still missing after 30 years

Her friend Jan Stonehouse disappeared six months later

Darlene Tucker still missing after 30 years

Oakville’s Darlene Tucker went missing on Valentine’s Day 1983. Six months later, her friend Jan Stonehouse also went missing. Both remain missing. They would now be in their late 40s.

Still missing after 30 years

photo courtesy Halton Regional Police Service

Oakville teen Jinisina ‘Jan’ Stonehouse, seen here, and her friend Darlene Tucker disappeared within six months of one another in 1983. Both remain as missing persons with Halton Regional Police 30 years later.

Darlene Tucker still missing after 30 years

It has been 30 long years since Oakville resident Darlene Tucker went missing at the age of 16.

Despite the passing of time, her family continues to hold out hope that Darlene is alive.

Tucker fled her Lakeshore Road West home on Valentine’s Day 1983, following an argument with her mother.

She never returned.

Her mom, Barbara, is desperately hoping her daughter will read this story and contact her family.

“We don’t want to disrupt your life, we just want to know that you’re alive and well,” Barbara recently told MissingKids.ca, which she gave permission to work with the Oakville Beaver to publish a story.

“We miss you and we love you,” said Barbara, 67, who provided comments for the story through MissingKids.ca. “We want her to know that we are still thinking of her.”

Police still have cold case file open

Halton Regional Police Det. Const. Steve Martin, who has inherited the investigation into Tucker’s disappearance, said the file indicates the teen — after discovering she was pregnant — left her family home in Oakville and moved in with her boyfriend elsewhere in town.

However, the file also shows Tucker stayed only a matter of weeks because there was conflict over a man she was seeing in Toronto.

Martin said Tucker, who was in Grade 10 at the former General Wolfe High School on McCraney Street, left her boyfriend’s home, but after a week with no word from her, she was reported missing by her boyfriend’s father.

“There was some information that came from Tucker’s mother that Tucker had contacted her through a payphone in Huntsville, (Ont.,) calling collect a couple of times. So we knew she was alive and well at least a month afterwards,” said Martin.

Confirmed sightings in late 1980s

“There were a couple of other confirmed sightings in the years following,” said the officer.

Police define a confirmed sighting as an instance when someone who knows the missing person actually speaks to them.

Tucker is described as white with blue/hazel eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she was 5-foot-4, 119 lbs., and had dark brown, shoulder-length hair.

She has a one-inch scar on her right knee and a one-inch scar just above her right eyebrow.

She had a prominent gap between her two front teeth and had a skin allergy on her hands, which caused them to break out in blisters.

In 1985, Tucker was seen working as a waitress downtown Toronto.

In 1987, there was another confirmed sighting in the Haliburton area.

Martin said a TV show about missing children in the early 1990s featured Tucker’s story and generated numerous tips, but none yielded new information of her whereabouts.

Her family’s concern escalated when she did not collect thousands of dollars left in a trust fund until her 18th birthday.

Martin also noted six months after Tucker’s disappearance, her friend Jinisina ‘Jan’ Stonehouse, 16, of Oakville, who was also pregnant at the time, fled her Elm Road home.

Friend reported missing six months later

Stonehouse, who had run away from home previously, was reported missing by her father on Aug. 8, 1983.

“Her father reported her missing because her mother was in hospital dying of cancer and wanted to see her daughter,” said Martin. Both her parents have since died.

Stonehouse was described as white, of medium build with green eyes and wavy, shoulder-length blonde hair. She was about 5-foot-4 and 110 lbs. at the time of her disappearance.

Martin said Stonehouse’s family owned a trailer in the Huntsville area and, in 1987, there was a confirmed sighting of Tucker and Stonehouse.

Both girls remain on the Halton Regional Police website as unsolved missing persons.

Investigators are convinced the disappearances are linked, said Martin, however, the officer said he does not believe the teens met with foul play.

“They left of their own free will and they were of legal age to do so,” said Martin.

“She (Tucker) appears to be living her own life. She has likely changed her name or married or something like that.”

Police said they have Tucker’s DNA and dental records, which can be used to identify her if necessary.

Martin said Tucker’s DNA was tested to determine if she was among the victims of notorious serial killer Robert Pickton, however, no match was found.

MissingKids.ca Director Christy Dzikowicz described Tucker’s case as a difficult one, but also noted that after so much time any kind of outcome was possible.

MissingKids.ca is Canada’s missing children resource centre and is owned and operated by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, a charitable organization dedicated to the personal safety of all children.

“Time can make a difference for anybody, whether it is her who reads this article and decides it is time to let her family know where she is or whether it is someone who knows what has happened to her,” said Dzikowicz.

“The timing can be right and we need to continue to reach out with information so that we can (get) people when they are ready to tell us something.

“We know she has a family, who very, very much, after 30 years, wants to know that she’s OK, wants to know what happened to her. Somebody knows something.”

Time to have answers

Dzikowicz said people often do not realize the significance of the information they have.

For example, simply knowing Tucker was alive on a certain date after she went missing could go a long way toward finding her.

Even if harm has come to Tucker, Dzikowicz said just knowing that fact would be better than her family not knowing. “It’s time for a mother to have answers,” said Dzikowicz.

Anyone with information about Tucker or Stonehouse can contact Halton police at 905-825-4747, ext. 8760 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

They can also report information anonymously at https://missingkids.ca or by calling the organization at 1-866-543-8477.

• • •

For more than 25 years, Child Find (Ontario) has been giving hope and support to families by helping them protect their children.

Formerly headquartered in Oakville, in the spring of 2010, Child Find Ontario became affiliated with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. Since that time, both organizations have worked together to deliver missing children services in Ontario.

On May 24, 2011, the Canadian Centre launched MissingKids.ca, a national online resource centre designed to provide information and support to families and others searching for missing children.

Missing children services is now delivered in Ontario through the MissingKids.ca program. It is a Canadian charity funded by the generosity of individuals, companies, organizations and foundations.

(2) Comment

By Dee|JANUARY 24, 2014 03:27 PM

"They left of their own free will and they were of legal age to do so." So why are there pictures plastered all over the media and people playing detective going through Facebook. If they wanted to contact their families they would have.

0 1

By Mary-Elizabeth|JANUARY 23, 2014 01:55 AM

I really hope somehow everyone knows what happened to both Darlene and Jan soon or their family hears from them. I went to school with both of them at Wolfe they were my classmates, I remember them both very well, I also remember seeing them in the halls all the time. God Bless you both and your families. Much love to everyone.